Here are your options if YouTube fades from the Amazon gizmos

Updated at 9:07 p.m. M., Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Photo: Elaine Thompson, AP

ARCHIVE – This Wednesday, September 27, 2017, the file photo shows an Amazon Fire TV transmission device with its remote control. On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, Google announced plans to release its popular YouTube video service from Amazon's Fire TV and Echo Show devices in an escalating dispute that has caught consumers in the crossfire. less

ARCHIVE – This Wednesday, September 27, 2017, the file photo shows an Amazon Fire TV streaming device with its remote control. On Tuesday, December 5, 2017, Google announced plans to release its popular YouTube video service … more

Photo: Elaine Thompson, AP

Here are your options if YouTube disappears from the gadgets of Amazon

NEW YORK (AP) – Attention Owners of Fire TV: YouTube could disappear soon from your device of transmission of Amazon. But you still have options.

Google threatens to take YouTube out of Fire TV before January 1, the latest round in a fierce battle between the two heavyweights of technology. If that happens, Fire TV owners can still look in a phone, tablet or personal computer. That includes an Amazon Fire tablet, since Google has not threatened to block it yet.

For those willing to leave Fire TV, almost any other device will play on YouTube. Not everyone will play videos from Amazon, although Apple TV just received the Amazon application on Wednesday.

These are some of the reasons why you may want to continue using Fire TV, and others not.

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THE CASE FOR FIRE TV

YouTube was never the centerpiece of Fire TV to begin with. It is not even a complete application on Fire TV, just a link to a YouTube website designed for mobile devices.

Fire TV is best viewed as a supplement to Amazon's $ 99 Prime loyalty program per year. Although Amazon has improved on the promotion of rival services, the video available through Prime remains prominent.

The device has Amazon's built-in Alexa voice assistant. In addition to weather, sports scores and stock quotes, it offers playback controls for selected applications. That allows you to ask Alexa to advance 30 seconds, for example.

Amazon's $ 40 Fire TV Stick is good for normal HDTVs. If you have a higher resolution 4K TV, you will want the regular Fire TV for $ 70. There are not many 4K videos yet, but the price difference is small compared to 4K TVs.

The common Fire TV also offers a high dynamic range, which has better contrast and produces brighter whites and darker blacks. Again, the HDR video is coming slowly.

On the negative side, Fire TV does not offer videos from iTunes or Google Play, and YouTube may soon join the list. The Fire TV remote control also lacks volume controls, something that is becoming standard in streaming devices.

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GOOGLE'S ALTERNATIVE

The current dispute centers on Amazon's refusal to sell some Google devices that compete with Amazon products. That includes Google's Chromecast, a streaming device that is cheap but a bit complicated to use, since you must start the video on your iPhone or Android phone and then change the transmission to the TV.

Many video services work with Chromecast, but Amazon does not allow its video service to work with the Google device.

Google offers other manufacturers their own software for streaming devices called Android TV. On those devices, Google's YouTube and Play services often get outstanding billing in search results, but at least you can get Amazon's video. Again, not iTunes.

One of those gadgets is the Nvidia Shield. It's expensive, starting at $ 179, but it comes with 4K and HDR. You can get voice searches through the Google Assistant: playback controls with some applications, weather information and some data that will never occur to a TV, such as the status of the flight.

Shield is powerful and designed for players; One feature allows you to share the game screen. A package that includes a gaming device costs $ 20 more. The driver gives you a headphone jack to listen to privately and free hands-free consultations with the Google Assistant.

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PLAYING NICE WITH BOTH

Roku has one of the most complete channel libraries: more than 5,000, many of which you've never heard of You can get videos from YouTube, Google Play and Amazon, but not iTunes.

Roku's Express sells for only $ 30. The $ 50 Streaming Stick offers a remote control with volume buttons and voice search, although we are talking about basic queries related to programs and applications, not controls of reproduction or information such as weather. The $ 70 Streaming Stick Plus adds 4K and HDR. The bells and whistles in the $ 100 Ultra include a remote control that will emit a sound to help you find it under the sofa cushions.

The Ultra's remote control has a headphone jack, so you can watch TV without waking up roommates. For cheaper models, you can get it through the Roku smartphone app. (With Fire TV and Apple TV, you can pair wireless headphones.)

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FOR APPLE FANS

Apple TV is the only device compatible with iTunes. It also has YouTube, but not Google Play. Amazon joined Apple TV on Wednesday.

Although an iPhone is not required, Apple TV will be more useful with one. The basic device is $ 149; a version with 4K and HDR costs $ 30 more. You are paying for the experience, in particular, the integration and synchronization with other Apple gadgets. For example, you can write passwords on an iPhone instead of browsing a keyboard on the TV.

Siri offers playback controls and information queries similar to those of Alexa and Google Assistant. The touchpad on the remote control offers faster forwarding and rewinding than rivals.

And although all the streaming devices offer more than just video, Apple TV goes much further by offering an experience similar to that of an iPhone on a large screen. You can browse the Ikea catalog or order food from Grubhub, for example.